


Wrong End of the Tunnel

by Grandapplewit



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: But at least he can admit that he has feelings, Echo - Freeform, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling in love in the middle of a forest, Feral Jedi Masters Making Friends, Fives may not be the most well adjusted clone in the GAR, Galidraan, M/M, Please don't use X-wings as boogy boards it wont end well, and at least he doesnt fall in love with a SITH, on the planet where your dad's people were slaughtered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24569491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grandapplewit/pseuds/Grandapplewit
Summary: Stranded on the wrong side of a siege, halfway across the planet from his vode, Echo runs into a very large, very angry Zabrak. Well, not runs into... Trips into, over, since said Zabrak is lying in a pool of his own blood on the forest floor.Halfway across the planet, Fives is tripping over his own Feral Force User, and MAYBE he can help get Captain Rex to admit that he has emotions, like a normal clone.
Relationships: CT-21-0408 l Echo/Savage Opress, CT-27-5555 l Fives/CT-7567 l Rex/Jon Antilles, CT-27-5555 | Fives | ARC-5555/CT-7567 | Rex, CT-5597 | Jesse/CT-6116 | Kix
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	Wrong End of the Tunnel

“Come on, Rex, this is a great idea!” Anakin laughed, holding up the fighter model and the clone doll Ahsoka had gotten at a flea market on Naboo in emphasis. 

“Sir, you want my men… to ride x-wings like they’re kriffing Blurgs?” It took five years off of his life to even get the words out of his mouth, kriff, he was getting too old for this. Rex sighed, resisting the urge to pinch his nose. It would work, the men were well trained enough to pull it off, but he really didn’t want to be the one to turn in that particular field report to Cody. 

“No, not like Blurgs, more like... particularly excitable Varactyl that happen to be able to fly.” Anakin was smiling like he’d already won, and, alright, technically he was the Commanding Officer, but Rex liked to think that his advice meant something to the Jedi. Anakin wasn’t that good at listening, but he did know solid battle tactics when he heard them. Unfortunately, with the Capital city of Galidraan overrun by Clankers, and in the middle of the densest forest he had ever had the misfortune of observing, a two-way attack was their best option. 

“More like metal Rancor with wings, Skyguy. But I think that’s a great idea! That way the Seppies won’t know how many troops we’re sending to the ground.” Ahsoka piped in, snagging her figurine from Anakin and floating it back to its place at the front of the deck. Commander Kabiin, as he had been affectionately dubbed, was second only to General Skywalker, and was credited with at least half of their victories. 

“You want us to ride X-wings.” Rex closed his eyes, and Force help him, why couldn’t he have gotten a NORMAL Jedi. Maybe General Undulii, Gree has nothing but praise for her, but that might just be because she actually knows what the Gree are and-

“Oh, don’t pull that face, Rex! You’ll have Jetpacks in case you fall.” Anakin clapped him on the shoulder, tossing the model fighter to Ahsoka. “Snips, go tell Axe to get his men ready in ten, you wanna fly down or ride with Kickback?” 

“Oh, I’m flying. How well do you think you can hold on, Skyguy?” She grinned like a feral Nexu, catching the model with the Force and sending it flitting around the Command Deck, knocking Admiral Yularen’s hat askew in the process. To his credit, the man didn’t even flinch, just fixed the cap with an air of tempered doneness. Ahsoka giggled at his reaction, dancing away from Anakin’s affectionate swat. 

“Better than you could.” Anakin flicked a bead at her retreating figure, shaking his head in fond amusement. 

“I’ll tell the men, but we don’t have enough jetpacks for the full battalion, sir.” Rex resituated his bucket against his hip, fighting back a smile at the two’s antics. 

“Huh, well, we could have multiple men per jetpack. If you kick up the power, it should be enough to get at least two men to the ground, or close to it, at least.” Anakin turned towards the door, smoothly dodging the flurry of troopers manning the deck without taking his eyes off of Rex. 

“Commander Appo’s not gonna be happy if he has to fill out requisition forms for our entire stock of jetpacks, sir.” Rex huffed a laugh, the perks of being a Captain. He got at least an hour of sleep in the few days after a mission, and his piles of paperwork hadn’t reached “desperate” status like Cody’s had after being promoted again.

“Eh, he’ll be fine. Come on, we’ll drop out of hyperspace in eight, and I need to find R2.”

~~~

“We’re riding X-wings… down to the surface?” Force, Echo loved his General, but why couldn’t they come up with a plan that didn’t involve hanging off of extremely fast durasteel objects like General Yoda with his newest Clone Carrier. 

“Yes, Echo, General Skywalker doesn’t want to show our hand just yet. So partner up, one jetpack per pair. We’re landing just outside the Capital, then Commander Tano will lead an air raid to distract the Clankers while General Skywalker leads an attack from the rear. Any questions?” Rex looked like it physically pained him to announce the plan, and the smattering of muffled snickers and unruly shifting showed that most of the men had noticed. Honestly, Rex was Captain of the 501st, he should be used to this! Amid the shuffling, a stiff hand raised above their heads. 

“Uh, yes? Dogma?” Rex shot a look at a few of the Shinies who were discretely throwing elbows, making the offending vode snap to attention when they noticed.

“Sir, what happens if we fall off?” You don’t, Echo sighed. Dogma was a good man, a good balance to the 501st’s typical brand of batshit, but some questions didn’t need to be asked.

“Well, you’ve got a jetpack, but there are kliks of forest surrounding the Capital, so it’ll be one hell of a walk to the recon point.” No other vod raised their hands, so Rex waved them off with a typical “dismissed” gesture. Fives gathered his helmet and ration bar, smiling like he was about to win a bet. “Don’t look at me like that, Fives, if you want to make this an official tactic, you can fill out the paperwork yourself.” 

Fives pouted, walking up to the Captain. “Aw, but sir! You know my handwriting’s horrible!” 

“That’s because you don’t write anything, di’kut. But if you want to practice, I’ve got a few stacks of reports that need filling and reviewing.” Rex raised an eyebrow, shaking his head in amusement. 

“Sir, are you trying to shunt your work onto a subordinate? What about your duty to the Republic!” Rex’s eyebrow somehow rose even higher at Fives’ tone. “Fine, fine, you’ve convinced me. But! Only if you’ll partner with me to fly down to the Capital.” 

Rex snorted, looking at the ceiling like it could grant him wisdom, or possibly the sweet embrace of death, whichever works. “Fine, Fives, you’ve got a deal.” 

Honestly, Fives could’ve powered the whole of Coruscant with how bright his smile was. Rex rolled his eyes, stalking off towards the flight deck. Looking back at Echo, guilt and the closest thing Fives got to embarrassment flashed across his face. 

“Don’t worry about it, Fives, I’ll be fine partnering with Mako. Natta’s piloting, anyways, and there’s no way he’d throw his Riduur. Just, uh, make sure you get the jetpack, yeah? I know how you like-“ Echo laughed, dodging the hit Fives threw his way. 

“Shut Up!” He hissed. 

“Oya, Vod!” Jesse smiled like the Tooka that got the cream, walking up with a piled of jetpacks in his arms. Fives snatched one, muttering curses under his breath, his ears turning a very telling shade of red. 

“Stop torturing him, Jesse. I’m sure Fives knows how to keep it professional, plus, if you tease him anymore, the Captain is gonna be able to see his blush through his bucket.” Kix was valiantly trying to hold his laughter back, but the dam broke when Fives shoved his helmet over his head, still cursing them under his breath as he followed the Captain out the door. 

~~~

They needed to stop listening to the General whenever he said he had an idea. Pressurized kits or not, flying through a dense atmosphere at full speed hanging onto a fighter like an oversized barnacle was not the definition of a Good Time. Echo’s stomach lurched into his throat as Natta dropped the fighter to skim over the tops of the dark green trees that covered the planet. The metal plating under his hands rattled at an unnerving speed, sending tremors up his hands and down his spine. He would’ve felt better with a jetpack, but Mako and Natta were Riduure, and he couldn’t-

A burst of light shot out of the trees, singing the leaves as it went. Shit, no, that’s gonna- the blaster bolt felt like it always had. A compact explosion of pressure against the offending area, followed by a searing heat that bullied its way past every conscious thought to the forefront of his brain. The Beskar’gam didn’t help, just turning the initial blast into a dull ache, and exacerbating the burning tenfold as Duraplast melted to skin. Hey, wait, no, the FIGHTER. The blaster bolt flipped Echo to the side, wrenching his hand from the plating he was clinging to. He slammed into Mako, pushing an oof from the older vod as he was made the filling of a durasteel-clone sandwich. For one calming second, they stayed there. The fighter ripping through the air as Echo scrambled for a hold, then he was airborne. Well, he wasn’t airborne for long, but free-falling any distance with nothing to catch you but the ground is enough to shake even the sternest of Commanders. 

The branches snapped as he hit them, scraping across his armor and slowing his descent in agonizing bursts and shorts. The limbs grew thicker, and eventually, one didn’t break on contact. Just s l o w l y creaking and crackling as Echo stared at the ground swaying below him. He was slung over the branch like a piece of linen left on the line to dry, which would’ve been much more embarrassing if his stomach didn’t feel like it had become a punching bag for Commander Cody after General Kenobi had flirted with Ventress for the thousandth time instead of, y’know, killing her. 

Getting a hand up on the branch was much more trouble than it was worth, as was accompanied by enough cursing to make Kix blush. Swinging a leg over steady himself was even more work, and Echo was really regretting not snagging the jetpack because there was nothing but green. Captain Rex had said kliks of forest, but this was ridiculous! Trees dense enough to make any bipedal animal hesitate, with gnarled, bushy undergrowth to boot. Fuck, why couldn’t he have gotten stranded on a savannah planet? Or even a trash heap like Nar Shaddaa, at least there he could ask for directions. He sighed, leaning back to thunk his bucket against the wood. 

And then the penny dropped. 

Or, well, the ARC dropped. Echo yelped, pressing his hand against the handprint on his chest. A flock of birds took off at the sound, screaming their dissent, and he didn’t even have time to feel the ground before his vision went dark.

**Author's Note:**

> Mado'a Translations:  
> Kriff - Fuck  
> di'kut - idiot  
> Riduur - Spouse  
> Oya - a cheer


End file.
